A new video from the U.S. Geological Survey illustrates Lake Meadâ€™s healthy and robust ecosystem and the aquatic science research and monitoring that happens on the lake.

Lake Mead National Recreation Areaâ€™s water quality is good, the sport fish populations are sufficient, and the lakes provide important habitat for an increasing number of birds. This positive trend was documented in a recently published report that leads to a better understanding of the natural resources of Lake Mead and Lake Mohave, and the issues that may affect natural resource management of Lake Mead NRA.

Complementing the recent interagency report about the aquatic science research in Lake Mead NRA, the 13-minute video highlights the effective collaboration of local, state and federal agencies focused on water quality and ecosystem health. The video illustrates theÂ crucial role of science in guiding management of this vital resource (now and into the future) for those who depend on the lake for drinking water, recreation, and electric power.

â€śWe pulled together some pretty spectacular imagery, cool graphics, smart scientists, and a great narrator to tell, what I think is, a very strong story on the important role of science in managing the vital water resource that is Lake Mead,â€ť said USGS video producer Stephen M. Wessells.

â€śThe earlier printed report provided an overview of the science done on Lakes Mead and Mohave, but the video makes it into a compelling story showing how the science is used for the benefit of the ecosystem and people,â€ť said USGS hydrologist Dr. Michael R. Rosen.

Lake Mead provides significant benefits that have contributed to the modern development of the southwestern United States. The lake provides important aquatic habitat for a wide variety of wildlife including endangered species, and a diversity of world-class water-based recreational opportunities for more than 8 million visitors annually. It supplies critical storage of water supplies for more than 25 million people in three western states (California, Arizona, and Nevada). Storage within Lake Mead supplies drinking water and provides for the generation of hydropower to deliver electricity for major cities including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Tucson, and San Diego. It also provides water for irrigation of more than 2.5 million acres (almost 4000 square miles or more than twice the size of the state of Delaware) of croplands.

The new video, USGS GIP 148, â€śLake Meadâ€”Clear and Vital,â€ť is available online.

For 250 million years, pollinators have been the planetâ€™s invisible workforce sustaining terrestrial life on our planet without any compensation but pollen and nectar. Preventing further losses of pollinators requires national attention . . . and today it happened. Read More

Finally, a prime suspect has been identified as a probable cause of the Sea Star Wasting Disease, a mysterious epidemic that has been killing these iconic marine animals in droves along the U.S. and Canadian Pacific Coast since 2013. Read more

Californiaâ€™s sea otter numbers are holding steady against the many forces pushing against their population recovery, according to the latest field survey led by USGS, state, aquarium, and university scientists. Read more

Mid-sized mammals in Everglades National Park are getting a big squeeze from invasive Burmese pythons, according to a USGS co-authored study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

After years of planning, the Department of the Interior has begun removing two dams on the Elwha River in Washington. But how will the removal of these dams impact the riverâ€™s sediments, waters, and fish?

USGS scientists study walruses off the northwestern Alaska coast in August as part of their ongoing study of how the Pacific walrus are responding to reduced sea ice conditions in late summer and fall.

Secretive and rare stream-dwelling amphibians are difficult to find and study. Scientists at the US Geological Survey and University of Idaho have developed a way to detect free-floating DNA from amphibians in fast-moving stream water.

Within the rivers, streams, and lakes of North America live over 200 species of freshwater mussels that share an amazing life history. Join us in Reston, VA to explore the fascinating reproductive biology and ecological role of one of natureâ€™s most sophisticated fishermen.

New USGS research shows that rice could become adapted to climate change and some catastrophic events by colonizing its seeds or plants with the spores of tiny naturally occurring fungi. The DNA of the rice plant itself is not changed; instead, researchers are re-creating what normally happens in nature.

A new study supports the ecological reliance of red knots on horseshoe crabs. The well-being of red knots, a declining shorebird species, is directly tied to the abundance of nutrient-rich eggs spawned by horseshoe crabs.

New USGS research shows that certain lichens can break down the infectious proteins responsible for chronic wasting disease, a troubling neurological disease fatal to wild deer and elk and spreading throughout the United States and Canada.

For reliable information about amphibians and the environmental factors that are important to their management and conservation, visit the new USGS Amphibian Monitoring and Research Initiative website.

Join us in learning about wildlife conservation research with Dr. Matthew Perry as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Major programs include global climate change studies, Chesapeake Bay studies, and wildlife conservation monitoring.

Ten gangly, adolescent whooping cranes have been released in Louisiana, marking a milestone for the USGS, the State of Louisiana, and the whooping cranes. The USGS has the largest breeding flock in the U.S., at about 60 birds. About half of these USGS-raised birds are returned to the wild each year.

The proposed USGS budget reflects research priorities to respond to nationally relevant issues, including water quantity and quality, ecosystem restoration, hydraulic fracturing, natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, and support for the National Ocean Policy, and has a large R&D component.

After years of planning, the Department of the Interior has begun removing two dams on the Elwha River in Washington. But how will the removal of these dams impact the riverâ€™s sediments, waters, and fish?

As a nation, we use more than 75 billion gallons of groundwater each day. September 13 is the National Groundwater Associationâ€™s â€śProtect Your Groundwater Day.â€ť What we can do to ensure we continue to have enough of it?

Water Security is the protection of adequate water supplies for food, fiber, industrial, and residential needs for expanding populations, which requires maximizing water-use efficiency, developing new supplies, and protecting water reserves in event of scarcity due to natural, manmade, or technological hazards.

The USGS and the National Weather Service have developed a new flood inundation map tool that enables management officials and residents to see where the potential threat of flooding is the highest along the Flint River near Albany, Georgia.

Looking for information on natural resources, natural hazards, geospatial data, and more? The USGS Education site provides great resources, including lessons, data, maps, and more, to support teaching, learning, K-12 education, and university-level inquiry and research.

The Chesapeake Bay has long been an R&R destination for DC residents. However, the watershedâ€™s overpopulation contributes to its decline. Join us when USGSâ€™s Scott Phillips and Peter Claggett discuss new science efforts applied to restoring the Nation's largest estuary on October 6th.

Population growth in the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan, due in part to returning refugees, is estimated to lead to a six-fold increase in drinking water needs by 2057. The USGS has worked in partnership with the Afghanistan Geological Survey to address questions of future water availability.

Flash flooding is one of the major causes of natural hazard-related deaths in the United States and is hard to predict, but data collected by the USGS is crucial to formulating better predictive models.

Did you know that contaminant-ridden dust from Africa may be harming coral reefs in the Caribbean? Scientists at the USGS are examining the air in Africa and in the Caribbean to determine what kinds of nutrients, microbes, and contaminants are traveling across the ocean.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities can be a significant source of pharmaceuticals in surface water. The USGS is working with water utilities to try to reduce the release of pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants to the environment.

Over the next 10 years, the USGS plans to conduct a new assessment of water availability and use. This national Water Census will address critical aspects of recent Federal legislation, including the need to establish a national water assessment program.

USGS scientists will join thousands of scientists, managers, and decision makers in Boston this week to present new findings on toxics at the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) conference in the Hynes Convention Center, Nov. 13-17.

On Nov. 3, USGS scientists Patrick Barnard and William Ellsworth will present a public lecture in Menlo Park, CA, providing Bay Area residents information about USGS research in the San Francisco Bay Area, including recent discoveries beneath San Francisco Bay and ongoing studies to better understand earthquake probabilities and the potential hazards associated with strong ground shaking.